At least 104 victims lose $63k to social media scams offering discounted goods in 2024
At least 104 victims have fallen prey to scams involving social media advertisements since January 2024, with losses amounting over $63,000.
The police said in a statement on March 28 that these scams would feature promotions for heavily discounted goods on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
Enticed by the attractive prices, the victims would be directed to fraudulent websites that request for their details such as their bank card details, and One-Time Passwords (OTP) in order to check out the items they had “purchased”.
They would realise they had been scammed only after discovering unauthorised transactions not matching their intended purchases charged to their credit or debit cards.
In some cases, these transactions were made in foreign currencies such as US dollars, Hong Kong dollars or Australian dollars.
Anyone with information about such crimes can call the police hotline at 1800-255-000 or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.
The public can also visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline at 1800-722-6688 for more information on scams.
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